I just wanted to take this opportunity to officially welcome all of the chapter leaders to the 2012-2013 Council of Chapter Presidents. I am looking forward to hearing from and working with all of you as the year goes on. I have gotten so much from my own experiences with my own chapter, NOCALL, both as a leader and a member, and I am looking forward to seeing what the other 30 chapters are doing and sharing those innovative ideas and best practices with everyone.

Chapter Newsletter Reviews on AALL Spectrum Blog

One way to find out what is going on in other chapters is to take a look at their newsletters. I know that none of us has the time to go to each of the 31 chapter web sites and do this, but did you know that volunteers for the AALL Spectrum blog choose a chapter each month and write a review of the content in their newsletter? The latest one highlights the July 2012 ALLUNY newsletter and can be found here. Chapter newsletters reviewed previously include MALL, MAALL, and HALL.

Chapter Annual Reports

The annual reports from each chapter were due on August 10th. Thank you to all of the chapters that have already submitted their reports. However, there are a handful of chapters that still need to submit their reports. Guidance on writing the annual report for you chapter can be found here. Reports should be sent as Word documents to annualreports@aall.org.

Update Your Chapter Information on AALLNET

Please take a moment to review your chapter's profile on AALLNET. A link to the chapter websites and profiles can be found here.

The good news is that most chapters have supplied updated information for their profiles. However, you should check to make sure the positions and terms are correct and names are spelled correctly, etc. If you have an opening or vacancy, please indicate that as well. Also, if you have a board member or officer that is not a member of AALL, please be sure to supply his or her e-mail address.

If your chapter has items that you would like included on the agenda for the 2012 Fall AALL Executive Board Meeting, which will take place November 2-3, now is the time to submit them. Agenda items should be submitted electronically using the Agenda Item Submission Form on AALLNET and the forms are due by September 20th. Please consult with me before you submit an agenda item, as I will be asked to explain your agenda item to the Board and will need to be familiar with it. A memo from Kate Hagan outlining the agenda item submission process is also attached for your reference.

If you have questions or concerns for the AALL Executive Board, please let me know and I will be happy to bring them up for you.

2013 AALL Annual Meeting Program Proposals

The due date for program proposals has been pushed back this year and will now be October 15th. That doesn't mean you can't start thinking about proposing a program now! Did your chapter have a great program last year that might be something that AALL members would benefit from attending? If so, consider submitting a program for the 2013 AALL Annual Meeting in Seattle, whose theme will be Rethink Your Value.

The results of the survey that the 2013 Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) conducted are now available on AALLNET. These include an Executive Summary as well as results by all library types and results separating respondents by employer type: academic, private/corporate, and court, county and government. Consider reviewing the survey results when developing and writing your program proposals. You can also join the Annual Meeting Program Ideas Community on AALLNET. This community was created to serve as a neutral venue where all members can share program ideas and find others to collaborate with on programs.

Council of Chapter Presidents Training Materials

It was so nice to see so many chapter leaders attending the leadership training, council business meeting and Government Relations roundtable. If you were unable to attend the leadership training at AALL in Boston last month, the Chapter Leadership Training Manual is available electronically as a PDF. I also have a few bound copies left, so if you want one of those, just let me know and I can mail one to you.

Please note that both a Treasurer training and Meeting Management training will be held virtually later this year.